


And then we were left

by Krasimer



Series: Dreams of You 'Verse [8]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Falling In Love, I will always find you, M/M, The ending of this story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2014-09-05
Packaged: 2018-02-16 04:56:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2256636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krasimer/pseuds/Krasimer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wherein there's the monster at the end of the book, things happen in a strange way, and details are revealed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And then we were left

Bilbo watched as Nori directed people quietly out of the woods, urging them towards the car they had arrived in. Surprisingly, Legolas was following along as well, having arrived sometime between when he had last seen them and now.

Putting his hand in his pocket, he brushed his fingers over the metal that lay hidden there.

There were not many days when he felt as exceedingly grateful for the knife his mother had given him, even fewer that he felt it was needed.

But today, he was beyond glad to have it at his side.

Brushing tentative fingers over the bruised and bleeding spot on his face, he sighed as the rest of the group finally stood next to him, Nori shifting uncomfortably. "Well lads," Bilbo whispered, eyes wide as he looked back at the cabin. "It looks like he's set up traps in the place."

"Traps?" Fili hissed. "He dared to- " he only went quiet when Kili clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Traps, yes." Bilbo gestured at his face, shrugging carefully so he wouldn't pull at the skin around the wounded area. "Of the shrapnel variety. Be careful if you're going to enter in any of the doors. I don't know about the windows."

Bofur frowned, lips thin and pressed together tightly as he looked over the cabin. "Is your face alright?"

"It's fine." Bilbo muttered.

Suddenly, he leapt forward and dragged Fili and Kili backwards, the metallic ping of bullets hitting the trees around them making the young men quake in fear.

"You dare!" came a shrieking voice from the cabin, drawing their eyes to one of the upper floors, where a window was open and Azog was hanging out of it, a gun in his hand and his sights set on another shot at the group below. "I will not let you leave here alive!"

"Legolas, we're going to need your skills here, I think." Nori muttered.

Nodding, Legolas nocked an arrow, loosing it at the cabin, piercing the meaty flesh of Azog's hand.

With a choked scream, Azog dropped the gun, reaching for it too slowly to catch it as it hit the ground. Nori turned when he heard the distant wail of sirens in the air, a hopeful look on his face. "Alright, the police are on their way here."

"Remember the plan," Bofur leaned close to Bilbo, whispering the words at him. "We'll be alright."

Bilbo met his eyes. "We've only got part of a plan. And what if Thorin isn't alright?"

"Then we'll figure out a way to make things better." Bofur clapped a hand on Bilbo's shoulder, eyes trained on the window Azog had popped through.

 

_"Alright, so we probably won't need it, but we should make a plan for what happens if we have to face off against Azog to rescue Thorin."_ _Bilbo looked at Bofur, frowning. "The police are handling it, aren't they? Gloin went to make sure that that was what happened."_

_"I know," Bofur shrugged. "But it never hurts to have a backup plan. What if we're wrong? What if it turns out that they can't handle it?"_

_"...Alright." Bilbo nodded, drawing himself straighter, literally and metaphorically erecting his spine. "Yes. Good. Back up plans. How should we proceed if things go wrong?"_

_"If we find out where Azog is, and where he's keeping Thorin, we need to move in carefully." Nori shrugged. "If he's tried to get ta Thorin this much, my guess is that he won't want to let him go. We enter whatever building he's in, one of us at a time, as a scout."_

_"But what if he has Thorin in his business? How would we get past security?" Bilbo countered, frowning._

_Nori shook his head. "What I know of him, he wouldn't do it that way. He has a big ol' yen to hurt Thorin and his family. Back then, and now, he wanted them dead, and he wanted to do it in a way that would destroy the rest of them."_

_"Besides," Bofur added, "How would he have gotten a six foot something man weighing over one hundred and fifty past security? Thorin is recognizable as Thomas Oberlin, the guards would have been very curious. And then the missing person thing would have popped up on the news, and security booths tend to have televisions turned to news."_

_"Right." Nori spared a second to look extremely proud of his boyfriend before turning back to Bilbo. "And Azog is a big guy, but carrying someone of Thomas's size up several flights of stairs to an office that no one would look in? I don't think that's happening."_

_Bilbo nodded, then turned and tugged some paper off the desk next to him, setting it on the coffee table. "Alright, so we're ignoring the office Azog works in for now. What about various houses that the Oberlins own?"_

_"...What." Nori's jaw dropped._

_"Well," Bilbo turned a soft pink color, starting to sketch some things out on the paper with a pen pulled from the desk. "Thorin has told me about, and shown me pictures, the houses and cabins that he and his sister have ownership of. Dis is currently in one of them with her husband, taking their official honeymoon, so I think we can ignore that one. It's at least an eight hour drive from here, and if that was the one Azog chose, I think Dis would beat him soundly for daring to lay a hand on her brother."_

_Bofur nodded, then sighed. "Makes sense. How many does that leave within an hour or two of us?"_

_"It leaves two within that radius." Bilbo sketched out a basic map, tapping the tip of the pen on the two locations. "The rest of them are in places like California, Alaska, Hawaii. I don't think that Azog would take him too far out. He's got a very famous hostage, he's not going to risk being spotted transporting him, I shouldn't think."_

_"Again, makes sense." Nori looked over the little map. "Is one of these surrounded by forest?"_

_"Yes." Bilbo circled one of them. "That one is. I think he said it was a camping cabin, meant for when he takes his nephews to hunt and fish and have a few days off for whatever reason."_

_Nori rapped his knuckles quietly against the table. "That'll probably be it. We're going to have to assume that he wants Thorin alive until he can have us there to see him executed."_

_"I think that's what he wants, yes." Bilbo nodded, then turned back to the desk, grabbing a key from one drawer and using it to open another._

_Bofur leaned closer, an eyebrow raised. "What are ya doin'?"_

_"Retrieving a few things." Bilbo muttered, pulling a blue bladed knife out of the drawer and unfolding it. "This was a knife my mother gave me. I like to think of it as Sting staying with me for all these years."_

_"It certainly looks like it." Nori watched as Bilbo ran a finger down the length of it, testing that sharpness. "What are you going to do with it?"_

_"Take it with me." Bilbo closed it again, tucking it into his pocket. "This is a vague plan, at best, but it's what we've got to work with. I should think that, if something happens, we may have to act surprised."_

_Bofur nodded. "If something goes wrong for the three of us, makes sense. But what about the others? What if Azog gets a hold of them?"_

_"I don't intend to let him." Bilbo hissed, a hand resting at the edge of his pocket. "I will see him die before he harms any of my friends or family."_

_"We need to actually plan." Nori interrupted, a hand on Bilbo's arm. "Never go into a fight without one, always a bad idea. We have a likely location, what are we going to do?"_

_"I say we distract Azog, if we know that Thorin's in there for sure, and one of us gets in there and gets him out." Bofur shrugged, a hand tugging nervously at the end of his braid. "Only if we know for a fact that he has Thorin with him right then."_

_Bilbo took a deep breath, then nodded. "Wait for confirmation of location, then go in as a rescue effort. I'll do that part."_

_"Are you going to be the scout, too?" Nori frowned, then looked back at the sketch. "We need to figure out what, if any, precautions Azog took on where ever he is."_

_"Yes." Bilbo flexed his hands in his lap. "Even if Thorin's dead or dying when we get there, if I die in trying to get him out, then we know and you're still around to try and get police intervention happening."_

_"How much are we actually counting on the police for this?" Nori interjected, a thoughtful look on his face. "If we appear, to the rest of the group, to be waiting for backup, they're more likely to stay calm in the face of all of this. Especially Fili and Kili."_

_"I know Frodo fairly well, he'll want to come too." Bilbo added. "If the other boys are going, he'll not want to be left behind, especially not since Gollum killed his parents in this life."_

_Nori nodded again, then sat still for a moment, folding up the map Bilbo had drawn and tucking it into his pocket. "We've got enough of a plan to work with, and we can adapt it for whatever situation we run into. I think the key to this might be 'act surprised' if and when Azog makes contact."_

_"Yes." Bilbo sighed. "They're going to be angry with us for it."_

_"If we live through this," Nori grinned rakishly. "Then I think they'll forgive us for the deception."_

 

"If you want him back," Azog growled at them, a victorious smile on his face. "You're going to have to come in and get him yourselves. I'm not letting him go."

Bilbo's spine stiffened, a deep shuddering breath tearing itself out of his throat. "He has him in there." he whispered, eyes narrowing on the pale faced man taunting them. "He has Thorin and he's going to kill him and I'm still down here."

Looking to meet Nori and Bofur's eyes, Bilbo nodded when they looked at him, swallowing heavily against the tightness in his throat.

"You are going to have to pry him," Azog snarled at them from where he was jammed into the frame of the window. "Cold and dead, from my fingers."

"Legolas," Nori muttered, watching as the former Orc retreated back into the room he held their king in. "For love of god, shoot when that shithead next shows his face."

Nodding, Legolas pulled an arrow from his quiver, nocking it smoothly. "Next shot I take will either damage him or kill him, this has gone on far too long as it is."

Nori dragged his eyes away from the building to look over at Bilbo. "Bilbo?"

"He's got Thorin." Bilbo whispered, eyes wide, whites showing all the way around. "He's got Thorin and he intends to only let him go when he's dead and I can't stay here and just watch this happen."

Snagging a handful of the man's jacket, Nori shook his head. "No, you've got to let the police get here and deal with this, this isn't something we can do much about."

"By the time they get here, it might be too late." Bilbo made an almost keening noise as he rocked on the balls of his feet, a desperate look on his face as he licked his lips. "Nori, please. What would you do if your brothers were up there? What would you do if- if Bofur was up there?"

Considering for a moment, Nori let go of his jacket, uncurling his fingers slowly. "Go."

"Thank you." Bilbo shook his hand, then turned tail and ran towards the house, slipping around the back before Azog popped out the window again, the police sirens sounding like an omen as they screeched through the air.

Legolas, true to his word, managed to sink an arrow into the meat of Azog's hip, the large man screaming out obscenities and epithets.

 

XxXxX

 

His head feeling like someone had shoved cotton into it, pulling out his brain in the process, Thorin focused on the senses he could use. His limbs felt numb, arms and legs refusing to move at his commands.

Or maybe someone had cut them off.

Stomach lurching Thorin brushed that idea away, the hazy muggy feeling in his mind making his thoughts sluggish. Trying to figure out where he was, he decided, was going to be harder than it should be.

The thing he was laying on felt familiar, however, and it smelled like...

He couldn't identify what it smelled like, his brain wouldn't let him.

Whatever it was, it was soft enough to it felt comfortable, even when the last thing he remembered was getting hit over the head by someone.

Or maybe the last thing he remembered was drinking something that had tasted foul.

The last thing he remembered may have also been the smile on Bilbo's face.

He wasn't sure anymore.

He knew what he wanted to have as his last memory if this was where his life ended.

The sounds that Bilbo made in contentment when they lay in bed together, even without the physicality that tended to include. 

The smile on Bilbo's face when they held hands.

The sound of Bilbo's laughter.

'Well,' one part of his slow-moving brain chimed in. 'You're completely gone on him, aren't you?'

He had to conclude that yes, yes he was.

If he was going to die here, he wished he could see Bilbo one more time.

And, he realized, if he focused he could almost see his little hobbit near him, looking at him with worry in his eyes.

A scurrying noise, distorted and out of proportion with what he could think it may be, sounded very close to his ear.

Sunbursts of pain and brightness popped behind his eyes as his head was slammed against a wall, a sliver of sharpness against his neck.

All of a sudden, the world seemed to snap back into a normal speed as the cramping in his legs and arms started to undo itself.

 

XxXxX

 

Bilbo snuck across the room, drawing his mother's knife from his pocket as he slipped between the shadows, one of the few rays of sunlight catching the blue metal of the blade. For a moment, it seemed to glow blue, giving him a sense of boldness for what he was about to do.

Standing up straight, he cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. "Azog!"

The man turned on his toes, face already contorting into a snarl as he met Bilbo's eyes, sharp teeth bared. His lips were blackened by something, and for a heart wrenching moment, Bilbo thought it may have been Thorin's blood.

"You!" Azog hissed, eyes narrowing as he took an unsteady step towards Bilbo, clutching at where an arrow had pierced his side. "You little maggot. You stopped me from slitting his throat. You kept me from spilling his blood."

"Yes," Bilbo took a breath through his nose, wrinkling it a little at the scent of blood that was coming off the man in waves. "It seems I did do that, didn't I?"

Behind Azog, Thorin was starting to stir, the bloody spot on his head worrying Bilbo. When he groaned, Bilbo let his gaze flicker back to the man in front of him.

Taking a threatening step closer, Azog growled at him, a low noise in the back of his throat like a rabid dog. "I was going to kill him. I was going to kill you."

Bilbo stepped around him, keeping his distance, until his back was to Thorin. Keeping his eyes on Azog, he shrugged. "You're not going to let us out of here without attempting to do so. I know that. I also know that you kidnapped the CEO of a rather large company, and that your face is plastered all over the news. You step outside of this building, I'm fairly certain that you're going to be shot."

Pulling the knife from behind his back, Bilbo flicked it open, taking a deep breath as he swiped outwards with it, catching Azog's arm.

Azog howled in pain, lashing out at the shorter man, just barely grazing the curls hanging over his forehead merely by virtue of Bilbo's height and the fact that he managed to duck just in time. Tucking into a ball and rolling out of the way as Azog kicked out at him, Bilbo landed on his knees a few feet away, sparing a glance at Thorin.

Thorin's eyes were open now, his breathing getting faster as he took in where he was.

With another howl, Azog stormed across the room, grabbing Thorin by the throat and slamming him against the wall before looking around and grabbing a shard of a broken mirror that lay against the wall.

"Hold still, little hobbit," he sneered "Or he'll stop being alive and I'll hunt him down on his next trip through. I wonder what I could do with a little boy, wonder how useful he could be to me."

Bilbo stood, adjusting his grip on the knife, breathing deeply through his nose once before lunging across the room and knocking Azog off his feet.

"You do not get to do this!" he hissed, jamming the blade of the knife through Azog's chest. Repeating the motion a couple more times, Bilbo finally snapped out of his rage when Thorin's hand landed on his shoulder.

Thorin knelt next to him, eyes wide as he took in the blood splattered face of the former hobbit, both of them breathing quickly. "Bilbo?"

His breathing starting to turn into sobs, Bilbo looked at him, almost not meeting his eyes. "I- I just-" He looked at the body beneath him again.

"You just saved my life." Thorin interrupted, placing his hands on Bilbo's face and drawing his gaze away. "You have done it before, you have done it again." He stood, pulling the shorter man with him, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"I hate to be a bother," Bilbo wrapped an arm around Thorin, tucking his face into the man's broad chest. "But can we get out of here?"

Thorin nodded, slinging an arm around Bilbo's shoulders and leaning on him slightly. "We can."

Together, they started limping out of the room.

 

Sitting together on the back of an ambulance, Bilbo tucked himself into Thorin's side, closing his eyes and allowing the medics to wrap an orange shock blanket around him.

"Are you two alright?"

Both of them looked up, Thorin still resting an arm around Bilbo protectively. In front of them stood Ori and Frodo, the two younger males looking incredibly worred. "Uncle?"

Bilbo smiled, then turned to meet Thorin's eyes. "We are going to have to speak about some things later, m'lad, but for now we're fine."

"I'd say we're going to be alright, yes." Running a hand through his hair, fingers catching slightly on the bandages, Thorin smiled, pulling Bilbo closer. "We've survived."

Ori stepped closer, watching as a black bodybag went past on a stretcher, then turned back to the two in front of him. "What happened?"

"Azog threatened my life, Bilbo responded accordingly." Thorin said, stating it as if it were incontrovertible truth. Bilbo turned into him, hiding his face in the man's shoulder, then sighed. Thorin smiled, his hand sliding up Bilbo's side until he could bury it in his hair. "If I hadn't been playing damsel, I'm fairly certain I would have seen more of his bravery, but alas, I was unconscious for most of it."

Bilbo groaned. "You were awake for more of it than you think you were. I don't get nearly as much credit as you're trying to give me here, lovely."

"Oh, see, that's where you're wrong," Thorin nudged their heads together, grinning. "I've given you far too little credit."

Frodo giggled, then stepped closer to Bilbo's side, hugging both of them at once. "Is it over?"

"Unless Saruman decides to attack us when he's mostly incorporeal, I think it is." Bilbo assured him, scruffling his hair into an even bigger mess than it was usually. "Our road goes on ahead, however, and our days grow longer and our enemies come to be less of a problem."

Combing his fingers through his hair almost frantically, Frodo smiled, then nodded and sat next to Bilbo on the back of the ambulance.

"Are you going to wait here with us until we're check over completely?" Thorin asked, an amused look on his face that was betrayed by the reassuring hand in the boy's hair.

Frodo nodded, skipping over the amusement and focusing entirely on the reassurance. "I've already lost one set of parents, and I'm really glad to not have lost another set. Plus, now I have cousins to keep in line."

"Fili and Kili are fairly rambunctious." Thorin muttered thoughtfully, a smile twisting his lips slightly. "I doubt that anything would take that from them. I doubt that even fear could take that from them."

Frodo nodded. "I think that we've got to talk about some things. Uncle keeps hinting at a thing that he wants to talk to me about, and I've got to tell you about Sam and Merry and Pippen and everyone else I've found."

"Wait," Bilbo turned, a startled look on his face. "Merry and Pippen?"

"Yeah." Frodo grinned. "I found them again."

Bilbo sighed, burying his face into Thorin's shoulder. "The world is doomed."

 

XxXxX

(Seven months later)

"Well," Bilbo looked around the living room. "I would say that seems neat enough, wouldn't you?"

Frodo nodded, a grin on his face as he moved a chair closer to the table. "I think so, yeah. It's not like it's going to stay this clean. You know what the dwarves are like when there's a party happening and there's the entire group of them."

"I still hold out hope on teaching them better manners." Bilbo sighed. "Oh, well."

A voice from behind them made them both jump, a hand sliding across Bilbo's back and shoulders. "I would think that the first person, man, woman, or otherwise, to be able to teach them manners would be very well rewarded. Also annoyed beyond sanity, but rewarded."

Bilbo turned, kissed Thorin's chin, then grinned like a lunatic. "You're home."

With a happy sigh and a look around the new living room, Thorin nodded. "Dis has given me the week off so that, starting tonight, we may take our Frodo on an adventure with us."

"Oh, by all the gods above, as long as there's no dragons." Bilbo laughed at Frodo's face when he said that. "Are you still accidentally driving to the old house?"

"Only sometimes." Thorin muttered, then turned to Frodo and hugged him, scruffling his hair. "But yes, an adventure is required. It's not everyday that someone turns fifteen."

Frodo laughed as he leaned against the table. "I may have to request we only go on a small adventure." shrugging, he pointed at the scarred mark on Bilbo's cheek. "I think we've had enough of the large ones to last us several lifetimes, at the very least."

"We may have at that." Bilbo nodded, running careful hands through Frodo's hair, trying to smooth the curls down into some semblance of calm.

Thorin nodded slowly. "I do not doubt that. I still think we should burn that cabin to the ground and rebuild it."

"I think that may be a wise choice, actually." Bilbo sighed, then turned towards the door when the bell rang. "I doubt your nephews will set foot in that place anytime soon."

While he went off to answer the door, likely letting in the rest of the group, Thorin turned to Frodo, pulling a box out of his pocket. "Do you think he'll say yes?" he asked quietly.

"Well," Frodo grinned. "Would you?"

"I believe I would." Thorin glanced at the arch that separated the dining room from the kitchen. "Does that mean he will?"

Frodo nodded, then started walking away to retrieve plates and forks. "Just ask him, Thorin."

When Frodo left the room, Thorin smiled softly, checking to make sure that the ring was still positioned perfectly in the little square of padded velvet. With one last deep breath, he nodded, then followed his son into the other room.

**Author's Note:**

> Unless I get an immediate plot bug for this story, I am done with it for now. I'll probably write more in the future, so yeah.
> 
> Don't wait with baited breath, but check back occasionally. 
> 
> (And comment if you feel like it, kudos if you feel like it.)


End file.
